WHAT IT’S ABOUT: (SCROLL DOWN TO READ AN EXCERPT)
A woman with too much knowledge was at risk for insanity. Their fragile mind couldn’t handle it. That’s what Lil had been told when she went against convention and became an attorney. The 1800’s had fewer women lawyers than women doctors. Her pride knew no bounds when she hung her shingle—L.M. Wentfield, Attorney At Law.

Drew was a struggling cattle rancher, building a fledging Hereford empire. He was working toward that goal when he was accused of rustling and faced possible hanging. He needed a lawyer—a good one—a man. Chesterfield had one lawyer—a new one—L.M. Wentfield. He wasn’t prepared for a beautiful blonde with a sharp tongue and fiercely won independence.

Lil had no homemaking abilities. Her love was the law. And if the thoughts of the gray-eyed cowboy, who had the audacity to refuse her legal help stayed in her mind, she’d push them aside. She had nothing to offer a rancher . Even her wealth wouldn’t be considered an asset to a prideful man. And Drew Jackson was proud. So proud, he knew he couldn’t ask a woman of Lil’s stature to share his life—but he wanted to—from the moment he’d stolen that first kiss.

DeANN SMALLWOOD AUTHOR BIO:
I live in Colorado with my husband and my two Yorkie kid dogs: Stormy, four pounds, and Eli, six pounds. I’m a native of Colorado, but I’ve lived several years in Wyoming and Montana. I draw from these beautiful states for most of my books. My Western Historical Romances are: Montana Star, Sapphire Blue, Unconquerable Callie, One Shingle To Hang, and Wyoming Heather and One Shingle To Hang. Tears In The Wind is a contemporary romance. Then I changed genres from my beloved romances and wrote, under the pen name of D. M. Woods, my first suspense/thriller: Death Crosses The Finish Line. The second book in this ‘death’ series, Death Is A Habit, came out January 8, 2014. I am currently working on the third book in the ‘death’ series, Death Walks C Dock. I am also working on another Western Historical Romance, Montana Man. It features the characters readers came to know and love in Montana Star. Truly, I mean it when I say my greatest pleasure next to writing is having my books read and enjoyed. There are many more stories just waiting to be written

EXCERPT: Everyone knew Lil Wentfield would never marry. What man would want her? She was too old, too set in her ways, and too damned opinionated. Granted, she was a real beauty, if you could get past all the other flaws. Long blonde hair, equally long legs, sparkling blue eyes, flawless skin, with just a hint of a European ancestor in the coloring. And lips, well to call them kissable would be doing them an injustice.

But spinster she was, with her hair coiled into a tight knot at the nape of her neck, as tight as the expression habitually worn on her lovely face. Wire rimmed glasses perched on her small nose, obscured flashes of emotion in those beautiful eyes. Except when it came to outrage. Then her eyes snapped, her spine stiffened, her chin raised, and she peered disdainfully at the offender.

Lil was like a badger when it came to proving her point and winning an argument. Her mother liked to say Lil was born arguing. What her father liked to say was more colorful and filled with disappointment. His only child compounded being born female, by having a mind of her own. Once Lil made a decision, she planted her feet firmly on the chosen path, and didn’t step off until her goal was accomplished.

Men found her unnerving. Lil Wentfield wouldn’t be any man’s ‘little woman’, her place in the home, serving her husband, and mothering children. She was unsettling; not material necessary for being the calming homemaker and acquiescent wife needed to soothe and support a man as he went about his business.

***

A loud knock broke into her thoughts. “Come in,” she called out.

Nothing happened, then another knock. “Please, come in,” she called again.

Getting no response, Lil came around her desk and, with some irritation at the interruption, jerked open the door, nearly toppling the tall man who held the doorknob on the other side. He muttered something under his breath, and tried to regain his balance only to bump into Lil, throwing her off stride. She stumbled backwards and would have fallen if not for the man’s quick reaction. He grabbed Lil and, wrapping both arms around, pulled her to him. Then, in a parody of the two-step, he danced her to safety.

Lil felt herself falling, then rescued by two strong arms. Not only was she pulled up short, but she was wrapped tightly against a rock hard chest, her nose buried in the man’s damp shirt. A very pleasant smell greeted her nose. The scent of summer rain and witch hazel. She found the masculine odor intoxicating.
Neither moved. Then Lil raised her head and looked into a pair of dancing gray eyes. His arms never relaxed their grip; in fact, they seemed to tighten around her as his mouth twitched, then broke into a smile.

“Didn’t expect to end up with a beautiful woman in my arms. For a moment there, I expected to land on the rug, Ma’am. With you alongside me,” he added with a chuckle.

He loosened his grip and gently pushed her away from the warmth and safety of his chest. Lil stepped back, feeling as though she’d just had something precious taken from her. She realized her hands still gripped his arms. Like a hot potato, she dropped them and turned away from the man’s disturbing presence. Like a fox heading for her den, Lil scurried behind her desk and gratefully lowered her trembling body onto the waiting chair.

With the desk between them, she was once again in charge. “May I help you?” she asked coolly, hoping the tremble in her voice went unnoticed. “I called come in not once but twice.”

“Sorry, Ma’am. Guess I didn’t hear you. I was just fixing to open the door when you did just that. Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Lil answered with no desire to elaborate. “I—I appreciate you catching me. Now,” she hurried away from that topic, “to repeat myself, how may I help you?”

He smiled, as if knowing her thoughts. Walking over to the desk, he removed his hat and stood with it in his hands. “I apologize for dripping on your floor, but it’s raining like hel—, uh, like heck out there.”
Lil tried not to look at how the ends of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She focused instead on his hair, black and shiny with rain drops glistening on the wavy strands not covered by his hat. She didn’t realize she was staring at him until he shifted from foot to foot.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes,” Lil answered, pulling herself back to reality.
“What I’m here for is to see L.M. Wentfield, Attorney At Law.” He pointed at the window, in the direction of the sign.
Lil nodded. “Yes,” she said again. At this rate, he’d think she only had a one word vocabulary.
The man tilted his head to one side. “Could you direct me to L. M. Wentfield, Ma’am?”
“Of course I can. How may I help you?”
Two small furrows appeared between the man’s eyes. He peered closer at her. Perhaps he needed to try another approach.
“Ma’am, could I speak with your husband?”
“There is no husband,” Lil said with a hint of asperity.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Leanna turns her back on the fresh grave of her husband, Leon, and heads to her car, to leave Colorado in search of a new life. She has bittersweet memories of her married life, particularly those years she and Leon spent developing and working a small Colorado ranch. Once they were forced from their spread, by wealthy, powerful speculators, Leon lost all sense of promise, and became increasingly depressed as the months passed. Leanna is unable to bring Leon back to a belief in himself and the future.

Leanna carries the secret of her husband’s death while working steadily for a year in a small law firm in Wyoming. Was Leon’s death an accident? He’d driven the mountain road many times before and was always a cautious driver. Did she make a mistake in not letting him see her pain in losing their ranch. Was her desire to shield him from even more hurt wrong? And the biggest question of all, did he think he’d lost her, too? These thoughts torture Leanna. She is content with her new life, but it is also clear she has a cold reserve and that she keeps her distance from loving anyone again.

Then Matt Forrister enters the law office where Leanna is a para-legal. He is everything Leanna has come to fear and loathe. He is wealthy and good-looking and owns one of the biggest ranches in the area. He is also her bosses friend. She immediately despises this man, yet, at the same time, she feels an overwhelming attraction to him. She can’t help but put him in the same category as the wealthy and powerful speculators that forced her from her ranch. Matt is puzzled, angered, and mesmerized by Leanna. He is drawn to her stunning beauty. He is attracted to her spirit. Thoughts of Leanna run like electricity through him.

Matt and Leanna’s boss conspire to bring Leanna to Matt’s ranch, the Lazy Seven, nestled in the Big Horn Mountains outside of Sheridan, Wyoming. In spite of her conflicting emotions, Leanna is swept into the beauty of everything. She beholds the vision of the dream she and Leon shared so hopelessly. The beautiful horses, the ranch, the man. Still, Leanna holds back frightened by the prospect of falling for a man who seems to mirror everything she had come to hate. The volatile mix of restraint and passion guides both Matt and Leanna through the chapters that follow. Leanna comes to appreciate and trust the hardworking rancher, the passionate and caring man, who has never known the true love of a woman. Matt loves Leanna deeply.

Leanna returns to Colorado and once again faces the heartbreak and rush of memories. She faces Leon’s grave and seeks his understanding and forgiveness. She returns to “Sheridan and Matt, exhausted from grief and rekindled memory, but beginning to heal. Leanna faces Matt, opens her heart and tells him her reason for her deep sense of shame and fear.They face one another, open and unafraid, clear about their desires and love.

AUTHOR BIO:

DeAnn Smallwood lives in Colorado with her husband, Marvin and their two Yorkies, Stormy and Eli. She has the support and pleasure of family surrounding her. DeAnn is a native of Colorado, but lived several years in the beautiful states of Wyoming and Montana. She draws from this time for many of her novels. Her greatest pleasure next to writing is having her books read and enjoyed.

Historical romances by DeAnn are: Montana Star, Sapphire Blue, Unconquerable Callie, and Wyoming Heather. Then, changing genres, DeAnn wrote a suspense/thriller under her pen name of: D. M. Wood. Death Crosses The Finish Line, is the first in a series of three ‘Death’ novels. Her second in this series, Death Is A Habit, will be out later this year.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
When the recently incarcerated Hope Jackson knocks on Kade McKune’s door, with three boxes of Girl Scout cookies in her hands, he has no clue his bitter, distrusting rancher’s world is about to be turned upside down.

Lied to and taken to the cleaners by a beautiful blonde, Kade has learned a hard lesson and slams the door to any possibility of a woman in his life. Aren’t they all liars? And Hope, with her lie of omission about her background, unknowingly fits that description.

Kade isn’t about to give her a chance to win his love and to convince him of her innocence. His beloved Double K ranch is doing just fine with the help of his seventy-eight-year-old Gran—the only woman he can trust. He sure doesn’t need Hope Jackson, a recently returned brother and baby girl, and three abused boys complicating things and resurrecting feelings long dead.

AUTHOR BIO:

I live in Colorado with my husband and my two Yorkie kid dogs: Stormy, four pounds, and Eli, six pounds. I’m a native of Colorado, but I lived for years in Wyoming and Montana. I draw from these three beautiful states for most of my books. My Western Historical Romances are: Montana Star, Sapphire Blue, Unconquerable Callie, Wyoming Heather, One Shingle To Hang, Montana Man, and Montana Rose.Tears In The Wind and Calliope Creek are contemporary westerns. Kade is also a contemporary western and the first book in The Wyoming Brother’s series. I am currently working on the second book in this series: Declan. I branched out and wrote, under the pen name of D. M. Woods, my first suspense/thriller: Death Crosses The Finish Line. The second book in this Death Series is, Death Is A Habit. I will be working on the third book, Death Walks C Dock. I truly mean it when I say my greatest pleasure next to writing is having my books read and enjoyed. There are many more stories just waiting to be written.

Lord Alaric was enthralling in much the same way that tigers in the Royal Menagerie were. She liked to observe them, but wouldn’t dream of taking one home.

One of Cosmopolitan’s Best Books of 2017!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own . . . until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy. . . .

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

STELLAR REVIEWS:

Top Pick from RT BookReviews

“Smart is the new sexy.” –Booklist, starred review

“Charming, romantic, and unexpectedly funny.” –Kirkus, starred review

“The romance between them builds gradually and realistically, and intensifies through their exchanges of witty repartee and sensual innuendo.”~ Publishers Weekly

ABOUT ELOISA: A reviewer from USA Today wrote that she “found herself devouring [Eloisa’s] book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got a couple more degrees and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Over twenty best-sellers later, she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She’s also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

Lord Alaric was enthralling in much the same way that tigers in the Royal Menagerie were. She liked to observe them, but wouldn’t dream of taking one home.

One of Cosmopolitan’s Best Books of 2017!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own . . . until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy. . . .

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

STELLAR REVIEWS:

Top Pick from RT BookReviews

“Smart is the new sexy.” –Booklist, starred review

“Charming, romantic, and unexpectedly funny.” –Kirkus, starred review

“The romance between them builds gradually and realistically, and intensifies through their exchanges of witty repartee and sensual innuendo.”~ Publishers Weekly

ABOUT ELOISA: A reviewer from USA Today wrote that she “found herself devouring [Eloisa’s] book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got a couple more degrees and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Over twenty best-sellers later, she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She’s also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

Lord Alaric was enthralling in much the same way that tigers in the Royal Menagerie were. She liked to observe them, but wouldn’t dream of taking one home.

One of Cosmopolitan’s Best Books of 2017!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own . . . until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy. . . .

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

STELLAR REVIEWS:

Top Pick from RT BookReviews

“Smart is the new sexy.” –Booklist, starred review

“Charming, romantic, and unexpectedly funny.” –Kirkus, starred review

“The romance between them builds gradually and realistically, and intensifies through their exchanges of witty repartee and sensual innuendo.”~ Publishers Weekly

ABOUT ELOISA: A reviewer from USA Today wrote that she “found herself devouring [Eloisa’s] book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got a couple more degrees and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Over twenty best-sellers later, she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She’s also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

Lord Alaric was enthralling in much the same way that tigers in the Royal Menagerie were. She liked to observe them, but wouldn’t dream of taking one home.

One of Cosmopolitan’s Best Books of 2017!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own . . . until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy. . . .

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

STELLAR REVIEWS:

Top Pick from RT BookReviews

“Smart is the new sexy.” –Booklist, starred review

“Charming, romantic, and unexpectedly funny.” –Kirkus, starred review

“The romance between them builds gradually and realistically, and intensifies through their exchanges of witty repartee and sensual innuendo.”~ Publishers Weekly

ABOUT ELOISA: A reviewer from USA Today wrote that she “found herself devouring [Eloisa’s] book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got a couple more degrees and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Over twenty best-sellers later, she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She’s also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.